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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24230026">fragile, tiny shell</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Author_Incognito/pseuds/Author_Incognito'>Author_Incognito</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>tumblr drabbles [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Child Abuse, Gen, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, author would like to fight ozai in a walmart parking lot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 18:41:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>858</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24230026</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Author_Incognito/pseuds/Author_Incognito</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Zuko can only shake his head in disbelief. “No.” He says. “No, Father wouldn’t. He can’t.”</p><p>Or</p><p>The fateful Agni Kai and its immediate aftermath.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Iroh &amp; Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>tumblr drabbles [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1683541</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>111</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>fragile, tiny shell</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Zuko is thirteen years old and he’s staring up at his father, shameful tears streaming down his eyes.  The crowd is dead silent. Or perhaps there never even was a crowd to begin with. Maybe the entire universe has dwindled down so that it’s just him and his father. And that that’s all there ever is and ever will be. </p><p>He’s still crying, but through his blurry vision he can see his father’s hand reaching toward him and Zuko thinks he sees his father’s mouth curl up into a smile. </p><p>His father cups his hand around his face and at first there is nothing. And then. A fiery ball of heat erupting around his eye. Zuko instinctively tries to scurry away, to get away from this agony. But his father places his other hand around the back of his head and holds him there, forcing him to stay.  </p><p>He must have passed out soon after that because the last thing Zuko remembers is the feel of his father’s hands against his head and the smell of his own burning flesh. </p><p>He dozes in and out of consciousness after that. Once he wakes up when one of the palace physicians is rubbing his face with some sort of ointment. The pain is still so intense that it’s all he can do is turn his head as he throws up over the side of the bed. He falls back into the darkness before she even jumps out of her chair to stop him from falling into his own pile of sick. </p><p>The next time he wakes up he doesn’t even have the energy to open his eyes. All Zuko can do is groan and shift in his bed as he overhears a conversation coming from somewhere nearby.</p><p>“What do you mean my brother won’t come to see his own son?” A voice exclaims in a rage. Zuko can’t recognize who the voice belongs to, but it invokes feelings of safety and love. </p><p>“I’m sorry, General Iroh, but Fire Lord Ozai has stated that he will not lay eyes on his son until he returns with the Avatar, as per the terms of his banishment.” </p><p>“What?” Zuko shouts, sitting straight up in his bed. All of the tiredness from before having vanished with that one sentence. </p><p>Something is covering his left eye, but still he can see his Uncle Iroh speaking to the head physician, a serious looking woman by the name of Riko. </p><p>A look of guilt flashes upon their faces. Clearly they had both been under the impression that he was still asleep. Iroh is the first to recover, and he rushes over to Zuko’s side.  </p><p>“Prince Zuko!” He exclaims, flashing his nephew what is supposed to be a beaming smile, but it only feels like his uncle is trying to distract him from what had just been said. “You should not be up!” Iroh pushes him gently back down onto the bed, his hand softly caressing the side of Zuko’s face. “You’ve suffered a great injury. You need to rest.” </p><p>Zuko shoves his way out of his uncle’s grip and focuses his gaze on Riko. “What do you mean? Where’s my father?”</p><p>Riko swallows, looking uncommonly unnerved. “Fire Lord Ozai has declared that you are banished, and that you may only return if you have the Avatar.”</p><p>Zuko can only shake his head in disbelief. “No.” He says. “No, Father wouldn’t. He can’t.” </p><p>“I’m so sorry, Prince Zuko.” Iroh tells him, his voice barely more than a whisper. </p><p>Zuko looks at him, confused. “Why are you sorry?” He asks, but before his uncle can reply Zuko says, “Never mind. I have to - I have to go and see Father. This is all just a misunderstanding. He wouldn’t do that.” Zuko swings his legs off of the bed, fully intending to stand up and march his way to his father’s quarters, but he is stopped by Iroh.</p><p>“No, Prince Zuko.” Iroh says to him, trying to push him back onto the bed. “You need to lay here and rest.”</p><p>“Indeed, he does.” Riko says, staring intently at him, a stern look on her face. “I did not spend the last few hours of my time treating your burn just so you can get up and run about all over the place looking for the Fire Lord.” </p><p>“You don’t understand.” Zuko tries to reason with them, still attempting to get up out of the bed. “Father wouldn’t do that. He can’t.”</p><p>“It’s all a misunderstanding. If I go and see him he’ll tell you that. Father wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t do that.” Zuko mutters to himself, not sure of who he is trying to convince. He doesn’t want it to be true, but his uncle has never lied to him before, so he knows in his heart that it must be. But that doesn’t mean that he wants to accept that fact.</p><p>Iroh looks at him with sorrowful eyes, mutters another, “I’m sorry,” wraps his arms around Zuko and just holds him. All Zuko can do is place his head on his uncle’s shoulder and try not to cry.</p>
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